Former WSOF matchmaker and Dominance MMA chief Ali Abdelaziz gave an ultimatum to Ferguson today on Twitter.

“You have 6 days to make a deal with the UFC (and) if you don’t make a deal I’m going to find someone else to fight @danawhite,” read the message, since deleted.

After beating ex-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos (25-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC), Ferguson (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC) awaits “fair terms” on a new contract with the UFC. At the moment, it appears to be an uphill battle. UFC President Dana White said Ferguson balked at the fighter’s request at equal pay with Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and said an interim title bout would not happen.

“We were trying to make that fight,” White said at a media scrum prior to this past month’s UFC 207. “Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes. Khabib has a different deal. So, that ain’t happening. Count that one out.”

Nurmagomedov has tried a number of enticements to get Ferguson into the octagon, most recently offering to pay him an additional $200,000 to take a fight. Ferguson has scoffed at the efforts, accusing the Dagestan-born fighter of doing White’s bidding.

Matt Brown performed an honest career calculation that led him to his decision to retire after his next fight. His opponent, Diego Sanchez, seems to have chosen the opposite path. For many aging fighters, these are the two choices, and neither is an easy one to make.